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INSIDE IOWA STATE
April 5, 2002
New policy for non-tenure track faculty takes effect this fall
by Linda Charles
This fall, a new system for non-tenure-track faculty will be implemented.
Inside asked associate provost Susan Carlson about the new policy and what
effect it will have on faculty and the university.
Q. How did the new non-tenure-track faculty policy come about?
A. Both faculty and the administration have agreed for a long
time that something needed to be done to provide those in temporary
positions some job security and provide for their advancement. A Faculty
Senate committee did a comprehensive study of the situation and proposed a
policy. The senate approved a final version early this year, which
subsequently was approved by the provost and the president.
Q. What are the main changes under the new policy?
A. The new policy creates four titles for non-tenure-track faculty
(lecturer, clinician, senior lecturer and senior clinician), and provides a
system for review and advancement of non-tenure-track faculty.
Q. What's the difference between lecturer/clinician and the senior
positions?
A. Lecturers and clinicians may be hired for up to three years, with
their contracts renewed up to a total of six years. Those who have been in
the lecturer and clinician positions for six years may be advanced to the
senior positions. Those in senior positions may be hired for up to five-year
periods and their contracts can be renewed indefinitely, when they perform
well and the department continues to need their services.
Q. How is this different from the current system for temporary faculty?
A. Currently, temporary faculty can work for the university full
time for a total of six years. After that, they have to either move on or be
hired part time. The new system allows people to continue working for the
university full time beyond the six-year limit.
Q. What happens if a department no longer needs the services of a
non-tenure-track faculty member?
A. Lecturers and clinicians are hired for "term appointments," which
means their contracts run a specific number of years (up to three).
Departments need not notify lecturers and clinicians if their contracts
won't be renewed for a second term. However, departments must give senior
lecturers and clinicians a year's notice if they don't plan to renew the
contracts.
Q. Will those who are temporary faculty now automatically be transferred
to the new positions?
A. No. Open searches will be held and those in temporary positions
will need to apply. Because the non-tenure-track positions have the
potential for long-term employment, affirmative action and other human
services guidelines must be met. But it is likely that a large number of
those holding temporary positions now will be hired for the newly titled
positions.
Under the new policy, tenure-line faculty will be responsible for selecting,
reviewing and renewing non-tenure-track faculty appointments (not always the
case now).
Q. What sort of review will there be for non-tenure-track faculty?
A. All departments (and perhaps some of the colleges) will develop
their own policies for review and advancement. Those policies must be in
place by March 2003. Non-tenure-track faculty will have position
responsibility statements, similar to those of tenure-track faculty, and
will be reviewed on those statements.
Q. Will some of the temporary faculty who have been with the university
for several years be hired into the senior positions?
A. Not at first, since the departments will not have their review
and advancement systems in place until next spring. However, some
non-tenure-track faculty may move to the senior positions in the fall of
2003, if their departments choose to exercise this option.
Q. Are there limits to the number of lecturers and clinicians that may be
hired?
A. Yes. The new policy limits non-tenure-track faculty to 25 percent
of the faculty in departments and 15 percent of the faculty in the
university overall. Departments that exceed this percentage may make their
case to the provost and Faculty Senate, who will decide the appeal
jointly.
Q. Is there a limit on how many senior positions a department can have?
A. No. Departments can hire senior lecturers and clinicians as they
need them to fulfill their academic responsibilities, as long as the number
of non-tenure-track faculty does not exceed the recommended percentages.
Departments will make their decisions about hiring lecturers and clinicians
based on an appraisal of the department's needs and its personnel. The new
policy should allow departments to do more long-range planning.
Q. How does the new policy affect adjunct professors?
A. At this time, the status of adjunct faculty will remain
unchanged. The Faculty Senate and the provost are studying the way adjunct
professors are hired and may make a recommendation for change in the future.
Q. Will the new system for non-tenure-track faculty have any budgetary
impact?
A. Not at first, since all non-tenure-track faculty will be hired at
the lecturer and clinician level. The pay for those levels is expected to be
comparable to what temporary faculty receive now. However, it is our hope
that non-tenure-track faculty will advance in their departments, and this
could have an impact on future university and departmental budgets.
Q. Where can I get more information about the non-tenure-track policy?
A. Questions should be directed to Susan Carlson, associate
provost, 1550 Beardshear, 4-9556, e-mail:
susanc@iastate.edu
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Ames, Iowa 50011, (515) 294-4111
Published by: University Relations,
online@iastate.edu
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